STARKVILLE — It was a no-doubter.
For Reid Humphreys, Mississippi State’s sophomore left-fielder to be, the team’s Jan. 31 scrimmage was a showcase. Stepping to the plate on a mild, windy day, Humphreys opened the scoring with a mammoth solo home run to left field. The blast landed steps away from a building the houses restrooms far behind the Left Field Lounge at Dudy Noble Field.
Afterward, it was only natural Humphreys was asked about a topic that’s near-and-dear to players across the country. That topic? The new baseballs that will be used this season when MSU plays host to Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
“It doesn’t feel any different off the bat,” Humphreys said. “I think it’s the same off the bat. It’s just that the ball travels a little further on the back end. I don’t think it’s a huge difference, but I’ve definitely seen balls go a little further this year than they did last year.”
The new baseballs, which are being referred to as “flat-seamed balls” because they have lower seams designed to slow wind resistance, aren’t meant to increase impact when bat meets ball. Instead, the difference is intended to be noticed during flight.
The change is an effort by the Division I Baseball Committee to boost scoring after a five-year drop. It comes after the committee commissioned a study to examine the baseballs. Committee members opted to go to a flat-seamed baseball after research this fall by the Washington State Sport Science Laboratory showed flat-seamed baseballs launched out of a pitching machine at averages of 95 mph, a 25-degree angle, and a 1,400 rpm spin rate traveled around 387 feet compared to raised-seamed baseballs that went 367 feet.
That research was done after the 2013 season, which saw three home runs hit at T.D. Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, the site of the College World Series. One of those home runs belonged to former MSU standout Hunter Renfroe. Two years later, MSU coach John Cohen and the Bulldogs will put the balls into play. Cohen, who was a home run hitter in his career at MSU, said the change in the game might not be noticeable at first.
“I think the new baseballs are going to make a subtle impact,” Cohen said. “I do think the ball is going further.”
That’s the intent. Home runs in 2014 reached a four-year low, and nowhere was that felt more than Starkville, where the Bulldogs hit 16, which was 12th out of 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference.
The decline in home runs could be traced to a 2011 change that reformed NCAA bat standards to make aluminum bats perform more like wood bats in an effort to diminish the velocity the ball came off the bat. To counter that shift, the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee opted in late 2013 to go to baseballs with lowered seams.
“We anticipate this will moderately increase scoring but not take it back to the days where we were dealing with outrageous scores that looked more like football scores,” said Dennis Farrell, chairman of the committee. “We want to get the game back to what is a reasonable amount of scoring and defense.”
Farrell said the baseball modifications won’t affect player safety. He said the lowered seams help balls travel greater distances, but don’t increase exit speed off the bat or the impact at the plate.
“We are always sensitive to student-athlete safety issues,” Farrell said. “According to the data we were presented, those concerns are alleviated. The rationale behind making this change is hoping it will allow certain balls hit at certain trajectories to carry farther.”
In Starkville, some have noticed and others haven’t.
“I do not think it has made much of a difference,” said MSU left-handed pitcher Ross Mitchell, who enters his senior season with a career record of 24-5. “The ball does carry a little more, but it does not make a big difference on my end.”
In three seasons, Mitchell has pitched a team-high 242 1/3 innings and has allowed four career home runs. With the seams of balls being decreased from a height of .48 inches to .31, pitchers will be forced to alter their grips, particularly on breaking pitches, and to find their control.
“I haven’t really noticed a difference,” said MSU closer Trevor Fitts, who relies on a curveball. “I think it will be a bigger deal in games, but it hasn’t affected me in practice.”
While pitchers will have to adjust to the change, coaches are overwhelmingly in favor of the move A survey conducted by the American Baseball Coaches Association showed 87 percent of the respondents wanted to change to the flat-seamed baseball. Nearly 80 percent of the Division I baseball coaches responded to the survey.
The coaches also were asked about game excitement and home runs. Seventy-two percent thought the game needed more excitement, and 69 percent believe Division I college baseball needs more home runs.
“The numbers from the survey mean the coaches are making a strong statement,” Farrell said. “Even the coaches of programs that have traditionally strong pitching were in favor of going to the flat-seamed baseball.”
For Cohen, adapting to the lower-seam baseball might be tougher on the road than at home, where MSU plays in pitcher-friendly Dudy Noble Field.
“I think in certain ballparks it’s going to play out a little more dramatically than it will in ours,” Cohen said, “but, again, I don’t see it making a dramatic impact.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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